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The First Lord of the Star League had numerous powers that made them "first among equals" compared to the leaders of the other Great Houses, among which three were considered the most important. First was the ability to call on the Star League Defense Force; though war could not technically be declared without the High Council's approval, loopholes within the Accords (and the soldiers' willingness) allowed the First Lord to essentially give any order for "defensive" purposes. Second was the ability to shut down any exchange or mint, or any company dealing in inter-realm trade, at will. Third was the ability to withhold advanced Terran Hegemony technology from the other realms, a ploy often used in exchange for certain favors.[1]

The First Lord however was not the Commander-in-Chief of the SLDF; that role was filled by the Commanding General, who was nominated by the First Lord but required approval from the other Council Lords.[2]

During the first Star League the position of First Lord was a hereditary position held by House Cameron. However, Stefan Amaris was able to gain the confidence of the last First Lord, Richard Cameron, and in a dastardly plot killed him and wiped out the entire extended Cameron family. After his defeat in the Amaris Civil War and the exodus of the SLDF, none of the other Council Lords could agree on who should assume the position of First Lord. This led directly to the Succession Wars.

The position of First Lord was resurrected with the creation of the Second Star League. Faced with the continued threat of invasion by the Clans, the various powers of the Inner Sphere banded together to recreate the old alliance and present a united front to the Clan menace. Rather than a hereditary position, the First Lord would be chosen at a tri-annual Whitting Conference, either by lot or by a vote of two-thirds of the Council Lords, and that no one who had already served as First Lord could do so again until all others had already done so.[3] Afterwards, the Constitution was amended prior to the Second Whitting Conference so that a simple majority vote of the Council could choose the next First Lord, with the ComStar representative casting the deciding vote in case of a tie.[4]

By design, the First Lord of the new Star League was a largely ceremonial role with very little power.[3] The First Lord did have the right to chose the Commanding General of the Second Star League Defense Force, which could only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of the Council, and could deploy a limited number of SLDF troops without needing the Council's authorization.[5]

The position came to an end at the Fourth Whitting Conference when the Capellan Confederation, Lyran Alliance and Federated Suns all signaled their intention to leave the second Star League. First Lord Christian Månsdottir saw no solution but to call a vote of no-confidence, hoping the measure would be defeated and that this show of unity would persuade the dissenting members to change their minds. However the measure was passed, formally dissolving the second Star League and with it the position of First Lord once again became void.